Spend a few days picking watermelons and throwing them to co-workers stationed on a truck and you gain a perspective of heat that lasts a lifetime.

It happens almost every summer. The temperature in the Portland area tops 90 degrees for a few days and complaints start flowing faster than the water in Class 5 rapids. I smile and think about watermelons. No, not eating watermelons. Harvesting watermelons.

View full sizeOregon heat rarely rivals that experienced when harvesting watermelons in the South, as Randy Fletcher and his son Michael of Grand Bay, Ala., are doing in this file photo.The Associated Press/2008

I grew up on a farm in south Mississippi and watermelons were one of our primary crops. Spend a few days picking watermelons and throwing them to co-workers stationed on a truck or trailer and you gain a perspective of heat that lasts a lifetime.

Residents in most of Oregon experience only a few 90 degree days a year, and those days rarely, if ever, are accompanied by 90 percent humidity. The 50 percent humidity projected in the Portland area this week is low by Southern standards. In comparison with watermelon-harvest heat, our 90 degree days with relatively cool nights feel, well, perfect.

What's more, we have a bounty of options for escaping the heat – even if you are among those without air-conditioning in your home. If the National Weather Service is correct, this could well be the hottest week of the summer in Portland and many other Oregon locations. With the right mindset and a few fun activities, it also can be one of the best weeks of the summer. Here are few tips from a heat wave veteran.

Make water your friend. When you think of Oregon, you think about water, not heat. Water is everywhere – even when it's not raining. There's the Pacific Ocean, rivers galore, Cascade waterfalls and a variety of lakes. Almost everyone except a few hardy souls in southeast Oregon is within an easy drive of some body of water. Check one out, or find a public swimming pool.

Enjoy some drinks. Of course, you should drink more water when it's hot, too. But water isn't the drink of choice in Portland – even though residents are justifiably proud of the quality of the Bull Run tap water. Whether you prefer microbrews, lemonade, or iced tea for ex-Southerners like me, cold drinks taste much better when the weather is hot enough to wilt a tree. And you can use the cold glass or can to wipe away the sweat.

Find an air conditioner. Even if your home doesn't have an air conditioner, most public buildings do. So, you have an excuse to check out a movie, visit a museum, or just go to the library and read in comfort. The Beaverton library even has a popular water fountain next door. And if you have air conditioning and your neighbors don't, be neighborly and invite them over.

Embrace the heat. Your mindset is the most important key to enjoying hot weather. To a connoisseur, heat is like spicy food. You want it to have a little bit of bite but not enough to hurt, and you don't want too much aftertaste. And that's the best part of a Northwest heat wave. You know it won't be too painful and it won't last too long.

And, of course, eat a cold watermelon. Mississippi isn't the only state proud of its watermelons. Hermiston is Oregon's watermelon hub, and the farmers there grow some delicious ones. They taste better when it's hot, even if you don't have the same watermelon nostalgia that I do.